Bureau of Labor Statistics

69.7 percent of 2016 high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016

May 22, 2017

Of the 3.1 million people ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2016, about 2.2 million, or 69.7 percent, were enrolled in college in October 2016. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2016 was little changed from the rate in October 2015.

View Chart Data

College enrollment rates of high school graduates in October of the year they graduated from high school, 1993–2016

Year

Total

Men

Women

White

Black or
African American

Asian

Hispanic or Latino

1993

62.6%

59.7%

65.4%

62.8%

55.6%

—

62.5%

1994

61.9

60.6

63.2

63.6

50.9

—

48.9

1995

61.9

62.6

61.4

62.6

51.4

—

53.8

1996

65.0

60.1

69.7

65.8

55.3

—

50.7

1997

67.0

63.5

70.3

67.5

59.6

—

65.5

1998

65.6

62.4

69.1

65.8

62.1

—

47.5

1999

62.9

61.4

64.4

62.8

59.2

—

42.2

2000

63.3

59.9

66.2

64.0

56.2

—

53.0

2001

61.6

59.7

63.5

63.1

54.7

—

51.2

2002

65.2

62.1

68.4

66.7

58.7

—

53.5

2003

63.9

61.2

66.5

65.0

58.3

84.1

58.6

2004

66.7

61.4

71.6

68.4

61.1

76.0

61.9

2005

68.6

66.5

70.4

69.4

56.8

87.5

54.1

2006

66.0

65.9

66.1

66.8

55.6

82.4

58.1

2007

67.2

66.1

68.3

68.7

55.2

90.9

63.9

2008

68.6

65.9

71.5

70.8

54.9

87.5

63.8

2009

70.1

66.0

73.8

69.2

68.7

92.2

59.3

2010

68.1

62.8

74.0

68.6

61.4

84.0

59.6

2011

68.3

64.6

72.3

67.7

67.5

86.7

66.6

2012

66.2

61.3

71.3

66.6

58.2

82.2

70.3

2013

65.9

63.5

68.4

67.1

59.3

79.1

59.9

2014

68.4

64.0

72.7

67.3

70.9

86.1

65.2

2015

69.2

65.8

72.6

71.1

54.6

83.0

68.9

2016

69.7

67.4

71.9

69.7

58.2

92.4

72.0

Note: Dash indicates data not available.

For 2016 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 71.9 percent for young women and 67.4 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent Asian graduates (92.4 percent) was higher than for their Hispanic (72.0 percent), White (69.7 percent), and Black (58.2 percent) counterparts.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016, about 9 in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about half as likely to be in the labor force (34.6 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (77.1 percent).

View Chart Data

Labor force participation rates in October 2016 of 2016 high school graduates 16 to 24 years old by their college enrollment status

Enrollment status

Labor force participation rate

Total enrolled in college

38.4

Enrolled in 2-year college

51.8

Enrolled in 4-year college

31.5

Full-time students

34.6

Part-time students

77.1

Not enrolled in college

72.3

About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year colleges. Of these students, 31.5 percent participated in the labor force in October 2016, lower than the 51.8 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2016 High School Graduates” (HTML) (PDF). People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.